Top news: At Bastar rally, Narendra Modi questions Congress support for ‘urban Maoists’

The biggest stories of the day.

At an election campaign rally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Bharatiya Janata Party plans to eliminate poverty and hunger from Bastar. He also attacked the Congress for it’s alleged support for “urban Maoists”.

The Congress staged protests across the country to mark the second anniversary of demonetisation. Senior Congress leaders courted arrest while protesting outside the Reserve Bank of India’s headquarters in Delhi.

Tigress Avni died of excessive internal haemorrhage and cardio-respiratory failure, according to the provisional necropsy report, PTI reported on Friday. The examination – conducted by veterinarians from several institutions – pointed to the presence of liquid and gas in the animal’s stomach and intestines, indicating that she had not hunted or eaten for several days.

The Madras High Court on Friday issued an interim order directing Chennai Police not to arrest Sarkar director AR Murugadoss till November 27, after the filmmaker moved an anticipatory bail application. The movie, starring actor Vijay, was released on Wednesday and has been mired in controversy afterprotestors demanded that certain scenes be removed.

LPG prices increased for second time this month after Centre raises distributors’ commission

The price of subsidised liquefied petroleum gas, which is used for cooking, was increased for the second time this month after the Centre raised the commission of domestic LPG distributors, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Malé on November 17 to attend Maldives President-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s oath-taking ceremony, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday. The relations between the two countries took a hit after former President Abdulla Yameen imposed a state of emergency in February for 45 days, throwing the island nation into a political crisis.

Jharkhand: Woman dies after three men, including former husband, allegedly rape her

A woman died after three men, including her former husband, allegedly raped her in the state’s Jamtara district on Wednesday night. While her ex-husband has been arrested, the other two are absconding, said a senior police officer on Thursday.

Centre has not sought Rs 3.6 lakh crore from RBI, clarifies senior official

A senior finance ministry official on Friday said the government has not sought Rs 3.6 lakh crore capital from the Reserve Bank of India as a recent news report suggested. “Lot of misinformed speculation is going around in media,” Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg tweeted. He added that the government was in discussions with the central bank only to fix its appropriate economic capital framework.

The Kerala High Court on Friday stayed for two weeks its earlier verdict disqualifying Indian Union Muslim League legislator KM Shaji for six years. The court granted Shaji two weeks’ time to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. The matter will next be heard on November 13.

Chhattisgarh: Why does Congress support urban Maoists and then speak against Naxalism, asks Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Chhattisgarh, led by Chief Minister Raman Singh, would continue to work for the development of the state. The prime minister was speaking at a public rally in Jagdalpur in Bastar district.

The air quality in Delhi continued to remain in the “severe” category on Friday despite an improvement in pollution levels by 1 pm, PTI reported. The Central Pollution Control Board said the overall air quality recorded was 428.

The Madras High Court on Friday turned down a petition filed by media baron Kalanithi Maran and former Union minister Dayanidhi Maran to dismiss charges against them in an illegal telephone exchange case.

Congress leader RC Khuntia on Thursday said the party had reached a seat-sharing agreement with its allies ahead of the elections to the 119-seat Telangana Assembly. Telangana is scheduled to go the polls on December 7. The Congress-led alliance in Telangana includes the Telugu Desam Party, Communist Party of India and the Telangana Jana Samithi.

India is often said to have evolved “into an almost Presidential-style parliamentary democracy”, according to a concept note on the proposed museum for prime ministers in New Delhi’s Teen Murti complex, The Indian Express reported on Friday.

The Reserve Bank of India rejected two key justifications of demonetisation – curbing black money and counterfeit notes – while giving its approval to the decision hours before it was announced on November 7, 2016, The Indian Express reported. Thursday marked the second anniversary of demonetisation.

Indian journalist Swati Chaturvedi on Thursday won the Press Freedom Award for Courage, given annually by Reporters without Borders. The freelance reporter won the award for her book I am a Troll: Inside the Secret World of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Digital Army.

Delhi Police arrest 310 people on Diwali night for violating court order on bursting firecrackers

The Delhi Police arrested 310 people on Diwali night on Wednesday for allegedly violating a Supreme Court order on bursting firecrackers within a certain time-frame. All those arrested were later granted bail. At least 562 cases were registered under Section 188 (disobedience to order promulgated by a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code in connection with bursting of firecrackers.

United States Vice President Mike Pence to meet Narendra Modi next week

United States Vice President Mike Pence will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a trip to the Asia-Pacific region between November 11 and November 18, the White House said on Thursday. Pence will be in the region to attend multilateral summits, including one with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The Kerala Police on Thursday filed a case against state Bharatiya Janata Party President PS Sreedharan Pillai for controversial remarks on the Sabarimala temple protests. In a video of the speech that emerged on Monday, Pillai purportedly claimed to have told the head priest at the Sabarimala temple that shutting the shrine if women were allowed into the premises would not invite contempt of court.

India to participate in Afghanistan peace talks in Moscow today at ‘non-official level’

India on Thursday said it will participate at a “non-official level” in multilateral peace talks hosted by Russia, which will also attended by a delegation of the Taliban. “We are aware that the Russian Federation is hosting a meeting in Moscow on 9 November on Afghanistan,” said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. “Our participation at the meeting will be at the non-official level.”